One month later suspend As part of its attempt at mediation, Qatar said it saw “momentum” in efforts to reach an agreement to end Israel's war in the Gaza Strip, as dozens of Palestinians were killed in the Israeli army's continued attacks against the besieged enclave.
Speaking at the Doha Forum on Saturday, Qatari Foreign Minister and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the country took a step back to mediate ceasefire talks in Gaza because he did not perceive “a real desire” to end the war.
But the minister said that after the US presidential election on November 5, Qatar felt “the momentum was returning”.
“We have seen a lot of encouragement from the new administration [of US President-elect Donald Trump] in order to reach an agreement even before the arrival of the president [into] office” in January, Al Thani said.
“And that really made us [try] …to get it back on track. We have been engaged in recent weeks,” he added.
Efforts to end Israel's war on Gaza, which killed more than 44,600 Palestinians since early October 2023, have foundered, with critics accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of blocking negotiations.
HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani @MBA_AlThani_ Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, during a roundtable discussion at the Doha Forum: Qatar emphasizes that the conclusion of a lasting agreement depends on the sincere desire of all parties to end the war and finalize a… pic.twitter.com/sjGYthIY5i
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) December 7, 2024
The administration of outgoing US President Joe Bidenwho has repeatedly said he is pushing for an end to the fighting in Gaza but refuses to condition U.S. aid to Israel, has also been criticized for his failure to secure a ceasefire.
The United States provides Israel with at least $3.8 billion in military aid annually, and the Biden administration has authorized $14 billion in additional aid to its ally since the war began last year .
Trump – who, like Biden, is a strong supporter of Israel – this week I warned that “there will be hell to pay” if the captives held in Gaza are not released by the time he enters the White House on January 20.
“Those responsible will be hit harder than anyone in the long and storied history of the United States of America. FREE THE HOSTAGES NOW! » he wrote on social networks.
Dozens dead in Gaza
Meanwhile, medical sources in Gaza told Al Jazeera Arabic on Saturday that 39 Palestinians had been killed since dawn in Israeli attacks on the bombed territory, including a strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp that killed at least least 26 people.
From Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum said the attack on the refugee camp targeted a building in a densely populated area housing displaced families.
“People were buried under tons of debris,” Abu Azzoum said, adding that rescuers and residents were still searching the rubble for possible survivors as well as bodies that could be buried.
The Israeli army also besieged the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, and its surroundings.
Footage verified by Al Jazeera's Sanad fact-checking agency showed Israeli forces shooting at a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance near the hospital.
Amid intense shelling and hostilities in the immediate vicinity of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north of the country, #Gaza yesterday, 33 people were reported killed just outside the facility.
Given the unstable security situation, the international medical team, deployed by @WHO five days ago…
– Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 7, 2024
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization (WHO), said an international medical team “was forced to self-evacuate” amid the deteriorating security situation at Kamal Hospital Adwan.
He said in a social media post On Saturday, “displaced people, caregivers and many injured patients began to flee the hospital and panic spread,” but 90 patients and 66 medical staff remained in the facility.
“Kamal Adwan is barely functional, but this latest incident further threatens his ability to remain operational. It is one of the last lifelines for the population of northern Gaza. We urgently call for the immediate protection of health facilities and an end to hostilities! he wrote.
Back in Doha, the Qatari prime minister said the Gulf country was working to protect the negotiating process “to ensure that we can achieve a meaningful result.”
“We hope to be able to move things forward as quickly as possible. We hope that the parties’ willingness to engage in good faith will continue in the same manner,” Al Thani said.
“It all revolves around the main questions: is there a will to end the war? Yes or no. Is there a desire to conclude an exchange agreement? Yes or no,” he added.
“These are two very simple questions with very simple answers. If the answers are yes to both questions, then we have an agreement. »
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